The new Vdara hotel in Las Vegas has a curved surface that creates what hotel staff call a "death ray", and which has burned at least one vacationer. (Source: Cygnusloop99)

The fiery beam sweeps across the pool area daily. (Source: MGM Resorts)

Temperatures under the beam can be 130 Fahrenheit or higher -- hot enough to melt or deform plastic like this newspaper bag (see melted away lettering). (Source: ABC News)

Hot new Vdara hotel might be a little bit TOO hot

Bill
Pintas was vacationing in Las Vegas when he decided to stay at the
swank new Vdara hotel, a
curvy 57-story tower owned by MGM Resorts. He was sitting at
the pool when he encountered something alarming. He recalls,
"I'm sitting there in the chair and all of the sudden my hair
and the top of my head are burning. I'm rubbing my head and it
felt like a chemical burn. I couldn't imagine what it could
be."

Like an ant under a magnifying glass, he
remembers running to an umbrella, but being unable to escape the hot
light. He recalls, "I used to live in Miami and I've sat
in the sun in Las Vegas 100 times. I know what a hot sun feels like
and this was not it. My first inclination was thinking: Jesus
we've destroyed the ozone layer because I am burning."

Speaking
with employees, he was alarmed to find out that the hotel staff was
aware of the situation. He recalls, "They're kind of
giggling and say: 'Yeah, we know. We call it the death ray."

The
"death ray" appears to be created by the glass surface of
the hotel itself -- acting as a concentrating parabolic dish --
similar to those used to heat water to a boil in solar
power systems. The dish concentrates light on a 10-foot by
15-foot hot zone moving across the pool. Temperatures in this
area spike 20 degrees Fahrenheit -- or more.

Bill Pintas saw
his plastic newspaper bag literally begin to melt. The bag --
composed of polyethylene -- is designed to withstand temperatures of
up to 120 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit. And the employees recall
seeing plastic cups -- which have a melting point of 160 degrees
Fahrenheit – actually melting.

Other guests, including
newspaper reviewers, have also observed the burning beam.

The
hotel management doesn't call it a "death ray", they prefer
the more friendly distinction "solar convergence phenomenon".
Gordon Absher, a spokesman for MGM Mirage says the hotel is
addressing the problem, and comments, "Because of the curved,
concave shape of that hotel, they sometimes get isolated pockets of
high temperatures."

The hotel is baffled by how to solve
the problem of the "death ray", though. When
initially constructing the building, they anticipated the issue and
put a coating over the glass that absorbs 70 percent of the daytime
sunlight. However, that was not enough to reduce its painful
effects. And the ray sweeps across a wide area, making it hard
to protect a specific region.

The mishap in
architecture isn't as glaring as some of history's most notable
mistakes -- such as the 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge, but it is pretty
extraordinary. It serves as a reminder that while many take the
science and engineering
of designing massive skyscrapers for granted these days, it
remains a tricky business.

It looks like the Vdara may have
exposed the wrong guest to the death ray, though -- Mr. Pintas
is a Chicago-based lawyer.

"We basically took a look at this situation and said, this is bullshit." -- Newegg Chief Legal Officer Lee Cheng's take on patent troll Soverain